Seahawks waive TE Anthony McCoy after Achilles injury

Anthony McCoy celebrates a Marshawn Lynch touchdown run during Seattle’s 28-24 loss to the Lions on Oct. 28 in Detroit. (Leon Halip/Getty Images)

The team announced Tuesday that McCoy, who is expected to miss up to nine months, is on an injury waiver. That means other NFL teams have a chance to claim him, with the knowledge that he is injured, before the Seahawks can decide whether to place McCoy on injured reserve or come to an injury settlement with him.

To fill McCoy’s spot on the offseason 90-man roster, the Seahawks signed tackle Jake Bscherer.

Bscherer tried out for the Seahawks during rookie minicamp earlier this month. He played three years for Wisconsin, redshirting his junior year for an injury, then started six games for the Badgers in 2009 before losing his spot atop the depth chart. He took two years off football, then transferred to Minnesota-Duluth to play out his final year of eligibility in 2012.

At his pro day in March, he did the 40-yard dash in 5.22 seconds and the 20-yard shuttle in 4.60 seconds, also bench-pressing 225 pounds 18 times. Bscherer, 25, was rumored to have been signed by the Seahawks a few days ago, but the team confirmed it Tuesday.

McCoy, also 25, played a key role in the Seahawks’ offense last season, catching 18 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns on the season, and often working alongside No. 1 TE Zach Miller in the two-tight set. The team also used McCoy heavily in run-blocking for Marshawn Lynch, the league’s third-leading rusher.

Cameron Morrah, the team’s third tight end last season, left the Seahawks for the San Francisco 49ers in free agency in April. However, the Seahawks selected former Rice tight end Luke Willson in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft to fill the vacant role — a role that may now require additional snaps.

McCoy’s absence for up to nine months means he would miss most, if not all, of the 2013 season.